UNION TOWNSHIP, Ohio — Some may consider it the best thing since sliced bread: At Everything Bagels Cincinnati, owner Mark Kochendorfer has been prepping a delicacy in the Jungle - Bengal Bagels.
It’s a delicate balance of orange-dyed dough and black-dyed dough mixed together.
Kochendorfer said he and another baker were like “two kids in a candy store” coming up with the blend, which took some time.
“We started out 50-50 ratio, then got it to 75-25,” he said. “The black was just more powerful. We’ve had some ugly, ugly stuff.”
But now, the recipe has been perfected. And don’t let the Play-Doh-like appearance fool you, this is just a plain bagel.
At Bengal Jim’s tailgate, Kochendorfer’s store sells the orange and black bagel and bagel chips (a baked, sliced bagel with garlic seasoning).
Tailgaters “love it. People come up to take pictures,” Kochendorfer said.
On Sunday, the Bengals will take on the New England Patriots at Paycor Stadium. Until then, proceeds from the sale of the bagels will go to “Tony’s Tickets for Kids.”
It’s an initiative from Tony DaTiger, the NFL’s fan of the year last season, to help young kids attend their first Bengals game.
“Without the kids becoming new fans, you know, who’s going to be there for us in later years,” Anthony Brooks, the man behind the Tony DaTiger face paint, told WCPO last year.
Back at the bagel shop, Kochendorfer said he’s been a life-long bengals fan: “the lows and the highs, and we’re on the highs now.”
“Hopefully, we’re producing a lot of Bengal bagels during the Super Bowl,” he said.
